Mired in a difficult second season in eastern Alabama, Auburn coach Hugh Freeze received more bad news ahead of Saturday’s non-conference finale against the Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks.Payton Thorne, Freeze’s starting senior quarterback, missed practice during the bye week and might not be available Saturday for Auburn (3-6, 1-5 SEC).Thorne injured his shoulder two weeks ago in the Tigers’ matchup with Vanderbilt, when the Commodores left Alabama with a 17-7 victory. Freeze’s outlook against ULM (5-4, 3-3 Sun Belt) for the Auburn home date had an ominous tone.”We’ll see how this week goes with that and with the others getting reps — and go from there,” said Freeze. “When I say that, it’s certainly not an indication that I don’t think he’s played pretty solid here as of late. You start thinking big picture. That’s not always the easiest thing to do, because you love your players. You want what’s best for all of them that gives us the best chance to win the remaining three games. We’ll start seeing how the health is foremost.”If Thorne cannot go, Freeze indicated redshirt freshman Hank Brown, Holden Geriner or Walker White would be the options.A 24-point favorite over ULM, Auburn would like to produce a strong performance in preparation for its final two games of 2024, both against ranked foes — home against No. 15 Texas A&M and the annual Iron Bowl against No. 10 Alabama, this year in Tuscaloosa.The Warhawks have experienced the ups and downs of Sun Belt play, winning their first three outings before dropping three straight.”Always in the state of Louisiana, there’s a bunch of athletes, and they’ve got their share for sure,” Freeze said.